Section 221 - Hearing officers; rules(a) The Secretary of Administration shall adopt a rule to establish guidelines and oversight for hearing officers in the Executive Branch. As used in this section, "hearing officer" means a person employed by the State of Vermont whose exclusive duty is to resolve contested cases when a decision of an Executive Branch agency is challenged.(b) The rule adopted pursuant to this section shall include provisions addressing the following topics:(1) The rule shall include ethical standards for hearing officers. The ethical standards: (A) may be based on the Model Code of Judicial Conduct for State Administrative Law Judges developed by the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary;(B) shall be made readily accessible to the public and to parties in administrative proceedings; and(C) shall include provisions related to bias, impartiality and the appearance of impartiality, conflicts of interest, recusal and disqualification, confidentiality, and ex parte communications.(2) The rule shall require the agency or department that employs the hearing officer to designate procedures for the receipt, consideration, and determination of complaints about the conduct of hearing officers. The procedures shall be provided to all parties in the matter.(3) The rule shall ensure that all parties in proceedings presided over by a hearing officer are provided with a copy of the rules of procedure that apply to the proceedings. The rules shall prominently and specifically describe any appeal rights a party has and the procedure for filing an appeal.Added 2013, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.) , § 2, eff. 6/11/2014.